
These recognizable bodies are the Heart Nebula, the Soul Nebula, the Pacman Nebula, the White Rose Cluster, and the two open Messier clusters known as M52 and M103. There are several well-known deep-space bodies that can be found in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is visible the entire year if you are located in a place that resides above the 34 degrees N latitude. The ability to view Cassiopeia for most of the year in some places is due to its placement between the latitudes of 90 degrees positive and 20 degrees negative. The constellation circles the celestial pole which is why the inversion phenomenon occurs. It is visible all year round and can sometimes be seen upside down to look like an ‘M’. This is a constellation that can be found in the Northern Hemisphere in the quadrant identified as NQ1.

The five that make up the main constellation are, from left to right, Segin, Ruchbach, Gamma, Schedar, and Caph, Shedar is considered the brightest star in the constellation and is 228 light-years away from us on Earth. The eight named stars are Archird, Ruchbah, Caph, Castula, Shedar, Segin, Fulu, and Nushagak. There are 8 stars that the IAU recognizes as a part of the Cassiopeia constellation, though only 5 of the stars make up the main ‘W’. It was recognized as one of Ptolemy’s original 48 constellations and has been also recognized as one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Unit. This makes Cassiopeia the 25th largest constellation of the heavenly bodies. This is one of the largest constellations in the heavens.Ĭassiopeia is 598.4 degrees which is the equivalent of 1.451% of the sky. So Cassiopeia is one hour or 15 degrees to the right of the celestial equator and 60 degrees north of that. The Hours refers to the 24 segments that each represent 15 degrees of the 360 degrees of the globe. These are the terms that astronomers use to map the night sky and serve as the equivalents of latitude and longitude. The location in the sky is designated as one hour right of ascension and 60 degrees north of declination. It resides in the sky near other constellations whose names are taken from the Greek myth, Perseus, Cepheus, and Andromeda, Cassiopeia Constellation Location in the Sky Also turned to stone are Cassiopeia and her husband.Ĭassiopeia is forever immortalized in the stars as the namesake for this constellation. They prepare her for sacrifice, and she is saved by Perseus who says the monster and then subsequently weds her.Īt the wedding feast a fight breaks out, and he uses Medusa’s severed head to turn the enemies to stone. The only way to save the kingdom, according to an oracle, to rid the kingdom of the monster is to sacrifice Andromeda, the daughter of Cassiopeia and Cepheus. The Nereids were unhappy and complained to Poseidon who then deploys a sea monster to destroy the coastal kingdom. The story goes that Cassiopeia was married to Cepheus and bragged that she was more beautiful than the sea nymphs known as Nereids. She is known as the vain queen due to the story about her and her daughter Andromeda. Cassiopeia Constellation MythologyĬassiopeia is a figure from Greek Mythology. Take the line of those stars and follow it to the other side of Polaris and there you will find Cassiopeia.

Use the two stars of the Dipper that point toward the Polaris. You may also see the ‘W’ as an ‘M’ and you can locate it using the Big Dipper. It is created from the five brightest stars in the constellation, recognized as being made of 8 total stars.
THE CASSIOPEIA CONSTELLATION HOW TO
Cassiopeia Constellation Facts, Myth, Location and Stars How to Identify The Cassiopeia ConstellationĬassiopia has a fairly distinct misaligned ‘W’. There are quite a few things to know about this constellation including the namesake, how to locate it, and the stars that create its shape to name a few.
